Radio 4

The New Song and Dance (Gern Blandsten)
by Tim Den

I like this already, just for the fact that this is mod music played by guys who are more interested in writing good music than teasing their hair to look like they just woke up. Featuring former members of Garden Variety and Milhouse (!?), Radio 4 is a band that's proud to play like a tornado that's sucked up The Clash's guitar and bass lines, Fugazi's tempos ("Buy and Sell"), and Elvis Costello's vocal stylings. They've even nailed it down to that sharp, razor-sounding guitar distortion that everyone from The Police to The Romantics used. Impressive! Needless to say, this is jumpy sing-along rock (need more clarification? Okay: Do The Cars or The Replacements ring a bell?) that owes more than a nod to the '70s mod fad. Very good stuff.
(www.gernblandsten.com)